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Thomas Swartz, Lawyer

Category: Criminal Law

Satisfied Customers: 2835

Experience: Twenty one years experience as a lawyer in New York and New Jersey. Former Appellate Law Clerk.

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shoplifted in brea ca , answered,police officers ...

Resolved Question:

shoplifted in brea ca , answered,police officers questions w/o being mirandized or told about them, when questioning was finished she said "well, thats a f burglary" your going to jail. the question I think that caused her to say your going to jail was: did you two talk about shoplifting before you came in store?: the other girl i was with replied "we mentioned it" at that point all questios were stopped and the officer pulled out her card w/ miranda on it and read us our rights, i was charged w/ grand theft and the girl who replied "we mentioned it" was charged w/ burglary. both first time offenders, both students, my dad recomends public defender because of miranda goof by police officer, can someone please advise?

Yes, I agree with your dad that you should obtain a public defender or a private attorney to represent you in this criminal case. You potentially have a very good argument that any statements you and your friend made to the police should be suppressed and not admitted into evidence because your Miranda rights were not read to you. If you were in custody at the time the police questioned you, the police were required to read you your Miranda rights.

In addition, there are other reasons why you should have counsel. You and your friend may have different interests and defenses to the charges. Only your own legal counsel would be able to exploit these defense on your behalf in the best possible way. For instance, it was your friend who responded to the police "we mentioned it." This statement is directly against your interest, and in your defense, you may be able to exclude this statement since you did not make it.

So, please obtain the services of legal counsel, you may have the defenses above, as well as others. Good luck.

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Counselor at Law

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Private practice with focus on family, criminal, PI, consumer protection, and business consultation.

Twenty one years experience as a lawyer in New York and New Jersey. Former Appellate Law Clerk.

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